The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
In some drilling operations, a drilling rig may be a mobile drilling assembly configured to move along guide rails or tracks. For example, a pair of parallel guide rails may support the drilling assembly. The guide rails may typically be hundreds of feet long, and may support and transport the drilling assembly. The drilling assembly may be guided along the rails between well locations. The guide rails may generally be arranged on the ground surface and over or near a well drilling location, such that the rails may support the drilling assembly during drilling operations. Each guide rail may be composed of several segments of track joined together.
The guide rails may generally be subjected to various loads, such as loading from the weight of the mobile drilling assembly, including drilling equipment, drilling fluid system equipment, and other equipment. The guide rails may further be subjected to loading caused by drilling operations, environmental loads such as wind loading on the drilling assembly, and/or other loads. Further, the guide rails may be subjected to contact stresses from the mobile drilling assembly moving over the rails via a roller moving system, for example. In some drilling locations, such as in particular remote locations or particular geographic areas, the ground surface may be generally soft or deformable. For example, in areas having a prevalence of permafrost, drilling operations may cause permafrost to thaw, and thus may lead to shifting, settling, or compression of soils. Such soft or deformable ground surfaces may have a relatively low bearing pressure, and thus may be unsuitable as a foundation for high loading over relatively small surface areas. Loading on guide rails from a mobile drilling apparatus, drilling operations, environmental factors, or other loads may cause the guide rails to experience bending, shear, and/or deflection forces. For example, where a drilling apparatus is arranged on a particular segment of guide rails, that particular segment may experience high bending, shear, and deflection forces. Particularly where the ground surface beneath the rails may be relatively soft or malleable, these bending, shear, and/or deflection forces may cause segments of guide rails to deform, sink into the ground, and/or disconnect at the joints. Deformed, sinking, and/or disconnected rail segments can lead to a tipping hazard for the drilling apparatus as well as reduced space below the drill floor for drilling operations.